Mobile robot, movement control system, and movement control method

ABSTRACT

A mobile robot includes a receiving unit that receives a request for providing a service, a notifying unit that notifies a client that the request is received by performing an operation oriented toward the client who has made the request, a moving unit that moves toward a user designated as a receiver of the service in accordance with the request, and a providing unit that provides the service.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/447,947 filed Mar. 2, 2017, which is based on and claims priorityunder 35 U.S.C. § 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2016-133232filed Jul. 5, 2016. All of the above-mentioned documents are herebyincorporated by reference in entirety.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention relates to mobile robots, movement controlsystems, and movement control methods.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a mobilerobot including a receiving unit that receives a request for providing aservice, a notifying unit that notifies a client that the request isreceived by performing an operation oriented toward the client who hasmade the request, a moving unit that moves toward a user designated as areceiver of the service in accordance with the request, and a providingunit that provides the service.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described indetail based on the following figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional configuration of a movement controlsystem according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of a mobile robot;

FIG. 3 is a sequence chart schematically illustrating the operation ofthe movement control system;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of request-received notification; and

FIG. 5 illustrates the configuration of a movement control systemaccording to a ninth modification.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 1. Configuration

FIG. 1 illustrates a functional configuration of a movement controlsystem 1 according to an exemplary embodiment. The movement controlsystem 1 includes a mobile robot 10. The mobile robot 10 is a devicethat moves autonomously. The mobile robot 10 moves by, for example,autonomously determining a route to a client so as to provide a servicethereto. The mobile robot 10 may have any shape so long as it movesautonomously. For example, the mobile robot 10 may have a human-likeshape or may have a shape different from a human-like shape. Examples ofservices to be provided include providing a beverage (such as coffee ortea) and providing a light meal (such as a snack). Normally, there arevarious conceivable methods for requesting a service to the mobile robot10. Specifically, in order to fully utilize the fact that the robot is“movable”, the mobile robot 10 receives a request from a remotelocation. However, when making a request from a remote location, it maybe difficult for the client to recognize whether the request has beenreceived. This problem is noteworthy especially if there are multipleclient candidates. This exemplary embodiment deals with this problem.

The movement control system 1 has a storage unit 11, a receiving unit12, a notifying unit 13, a moving unit 14, an autonomous-movementcontrol unit 15, and a providing unit 16. The storage unit 11 stores mapdata therein. The map data indicates a map of a range within which themobile robot 10 is movable. The receiving unit 12 receives a request forproviding a service. The notifying unit 13 notifies a client that arequest has been received by performing an operation oriented toward theclient. The term “operation oriented toward the client” refers to anoperation for directly notifying the client without being intervened bya communication network, such as an operation for causing apredetermined section of the mobile robot 10 to face the client or anoperation for releasing sound for identifying the client (e.g., a voicecalling out the name of the client).

The moving unit 14 causes the mobile robot 10 to move. Theautonomous-movement control unit 15 controls the moving unit 14 forautonomous movement of the mobile robot 10. The term “autonomousmovement” refers to movement of the robot itself based on its owndecision without any specific human command. The providing unit 16provides a predetermined service. The providing unit 16 may beconfigured to provide the service automatically (e.g., a robot thatautomatically pours coffee into a cup and automatically hands over thecup filled with the coffee to a client) or simply hold items to beprovided for the service (e.g., a table having a coffee pot and cupsaccommodated therein).

FIG. 2 illustrates a hardware configuration of the mobile robot 10. Themobile robot 10 has a central processing unit (CPU) 101, a memory 102, astorage device 103, a communication interface (IF) 104, a driving system105, a sensor group 106, a display device 107, a battery 108, and ahousing 109.

The CPU 101 is a processor that controls other components of the mobilerobot 10. The memory 102 is a storage device functioning as a work areato be used by the CPU 101 for executing a program and includes, forexample, a random access memory (RAM). The storage device 103 storesvarious types of programs and data therein and includes, for example, asolid state drive (SSD) or a hard disk drive (HDD). The communication IF104 communicates with another device in accordance with a predeterminedwireless or wired communication standard (e.g., Wi-Fi (registeredtrademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or Ethernet (registeredtrademark)).

The driving system 105 is a mechanism for moving the mobile robot 10 andincludes, for example, multiple wheels, tires attached to these wheels,a motor for driving these wheels, and a mechanism for changing thedirection of these wheels. The sensor group 106 is a sensor (i.e., anexample of a detector) that detects various types of information used inautonomous movement, searching of a client, or receiving of a command,and includes at least one of a time-of-flight (TOF) sensor, a stereocamera, a thermal image camera, a microphone, a moving-amount sensor,and an infrared sensor. The display device 107 (i.e., an example of adisplay) displays various types of information and includes, forexample, a liquid crystal display (LCD). The battery 108 is forsupplying electric power for driving other components, such as the CPU101 and the driving system 105, and is, for example, a lithium ionbattery. The housing 109 accommodates and retains other componentsincluding from the CPU 101 to the battery 108.

In this example, the mobile robot 10 further has a service unit 150. Theservice unit 150 provides a service to a client and includes, forexample, a coffee server or a snack box. The service unit 150 isconnected to the housing 109.

Furthermore, in this example, the storage device 103 stores therein aprogram for controlling the driving system 105 so as to cause the mobilerobot 10 to move autonomously (referred to as “autonomous movementprogram” hereinafter) and a program for setting a destination inaccordance with a command from a user or a user terminal (not shown)(referred to as “movement control program” hereinafter). The CPU 101executes these programs so that the functions shown in FIG. 1 areimplemented in the mobile robot 10. The storage device 103 is an exampleof the storage unit 11. The CPU 101 executing the movement controlprogram is an example of the receiving unit 12 and the notifying unit13. The driving system 105 is an example of the moving unit 14. The CPU101 executing the autonomous movement program is an example of theautonomous-movement control unit 15. The service unit 150 is an exampleof the providing unit 16.

Furthermore, in this example, the storage device 103 stores map dataindicating a region in which the mobile robot 10 is movable. Theautonomous movement program and the movement control program refer tothis map data so as to perform an autonomous movement process and adestination setting process.

2. Operation

FIG. 3 is a sequence chart schematically illustrating the operation ofthe movement control system 1. The flow in FIG. 3 commences when, forexample, the mobile robot 10 is activated. Although the processdescribed below is principally performed by functional components, suchas the receiving unit 12, the hardware components and the softwarecomponents corresponding to the functional components operate incooperation with each other to execute the process.

In step S1, the receiving unit 12 starts receiving a request. Thereceiving unit 12 first acquires information detected by the sensorgroup 106. In this example, the sensor group 106 detects an image andsound surrounding the mobile robot 10 and also detects the distance to atarget. First, the receiving unit 12 recognizes a person in the imageacquired from the sensor group 106. The person appearing in the image isa client candidate. For each person appearing in the image, thereceiving unit 12 stores information for specifying the person (e.g.,information for recognizing and specifying the person's face, clothing,physique, color, or direction as viewed from the mobile robot 10) intothe storage unit 11. If there are multiple people appearing in theimage, these people become client candidates.

In step S2, the receiving unit 12 recognizes the request. For example,the receiving unit 12 determines whether or not the person appearing inthe image (i.e., moving image) is performing a predetermined gesture.For each kind of request, the storage unit 11 stores gesture-specifyinginformation (e.g., a feature quantity of human movement). For example,each kind of request refers to a type of service to be received (e.g.,providing of coffee or snack). The receiving unit 12 refers to theinformation stored in the storage unit 11 and determines whether thepredetermined gesture is being performed. If it is determined that thepredetermined gesture is being performed, the receiving unit 12recognizes that the gesture is a request for receiving a service. If itis determined that the predetermined gesture is not performed, thereceiving unit 12 determines that a request for receiving a service isnot made. In a case where multiple people are appearing in the image,the receiving unit 12 determines whether the predetermined gesture isperformed on a person-by-person basis. In place of or in addition torecognizing a request by using an image, the receiving unit 12 mayrecognize a request by using, for example, sound.

If it is recognized that multiple people are making requests, thereceiving unit 12 stores, into the storage unit 11, the kinds of therequests and the information for specifying the people who have madethose requests (simply referred to as “clients” hereinafter) incorrespondence with each other. The receiving unit 12 further stores,into the storage unit 11, sequence-specifying information (e.g., timestamps) with respect to the multiple clients in correspondence with thekinds of the requests.

For example, a time stamp indicates the time at which a gesture relatedto a request is started. For example, in a case where a user A firststarts to perform a gesture α and another user B subsequently starts toperform a gesture β, the gesture β may sometimes be recognized first dueto the gesture β being, for example, simpler. In this case, if a timestamp indicating the time at which the recognition of each gesture iscompleted is stored into the storage unit 11 as the sequence-specifyinginformation, the user A may possibly complain. In this exemplaryembodiment, a time stamp indicating the time at which a gesture relatedto a request is started is used. If the above-described case does notoccur or is not a problem, a time stamp indicating the time at which therecognition of each gesture is completed may be used.

In step S3, the notifying unit 13 notifies the client that the requesthas been received. This notification will be referred to as“request-received notification” hereinafter. For example, therequest-received notification is performed by using a visual method, anaudial method, or a combination of these methods. According to thisexample, it is possible to clearly express that the request has beenreceived. As an example, the notifying unit 13 performs an operation forcausing a predetermined section of the mobile robot 10 to face theclient. The “predetermined section” in this case is, for example, asection corresponding to a face in a case where the housing 109 of themobile robot 10 has a shape that resembles the shape of an animal orhuman. In particular, if the mobile robot 10 has structurescorresponding to eyes, the notifying unit 13 may move the eyes so as tomake eye contact with the client. In another example, the “predeterminedsection” is a section corresponding to a camera lens in the sensor group106. In another example, the “predetermined section” is a sectioncorresponding to the display surface of the display device 107. In thisexample, the notifying unit 13 may display, on the display device 107,for example, a message, an image, or facial text indicating that therequest has been received. Alternatively, if the mobile robot 10 has alight-emitting member, such as a lamp, the notifying unit 13 causes thislight-emitting member to face the client and emit light. In anotherexample, the notifying unit 13 controls the moving unit 14 such that theside defined as the front surface of the mobile robot 10 faces theclient. Upon performing the request-received notification, the notifyingunit 13 stores, into the storage unit 11, information indicating thatthe request-received notification related to the request is completed.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of the request-received notification. Inthis example, the request-received notification is performed by using ascreen displayed by the display device 107. This screen includes amessage 91 and a user ID 92. The message 91 indicates that a request hasbeen received. The user ID 92 is client-specifying information. Forexample, the storage unit 11 stores a database for performing clientface authentication, and the receiving unit 12 performs faceauthentication using the information detected by the sensor group 106 soas to specify a client.

In a case where it is recognized that multiple clients are makingrequests, the notifying unit 13 sequentially performs notificationstarting from the first-most request (i.e., the request with the oldesttime stamp) specified based on the sequence-specifying informationstored in the storage unit 11 from among requests for which therequest-received notification is not completed. When there are no morerequests for which the request-received notification is not completed,the notifying unit 13 notifies the autonomous-movement control unit 15that the request-received notification is completed.

If a request is not receivable due to a certain reason, the notifyingunit 13 notifies the relevant client that the request is not receivable.Examples of a case where a request is not receivable include a casewhere a service is in the process of being provided and a case where itis expectantly difficult to provide a service within a predeterminedtime due to accumulated reserved requests.

Referring back to FIG. 3, in step S4, the autonomous-movement controlunit 15 sets a destination. The destination is a location near a client.For example, the destination is a point where the distance to the clientis within a predetermined distance (e.g., a distance reachable by theclient) on a route from the present location of the mobile robot 10 tothe location of the client. The location of the client (i.e., thedirection and distance with reference to the mobile robot 10) isspecified by the receiving unit 12 by using the information detected bythe sensor group 106.

In step S5, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 sets a route to thedestination. The autonomous-movement control unit 15 reads the map datafrom the storage unit 11 and uses the read map data to set the route. Aknown algorithm is used for setting the route to the destination. If theaccuracy for specifying the location of the client is low and thelocation of the client is specifiable only within a range having acertain size, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 sets arepresentative point of that range (e.g., a point with the shortestdistance from the present location of the mobile robot 10 or a medianpoint) as the destination.

In step S6, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 controls the movingunit 14 so as to move along the route. The autonomous-movement controlunit 15 uses the information detected by the sensor group 106 so as tomove while checking that there are no obstacles on the route. If anobstacle is detected, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 correctsthe route so as to avoid the obstacle.

Upon reaching the destination, the autonomous-movement control unit 15searches for the client. In this case, the autonomous-movement controlunit 15 may perform a process for prompting the client to give a requeststart signal. A request start signal is given by, for example, at leastone of client's gesture and voice, and the contents thereof are set inadvance. Alternatively, the client may operate an input device (notshown and may be, for example, a touchscreen or a button) provided inthe mobile robot 10 so as to input the request start signal.

If the client is not findable, the autonomous-movement control unit 15performs an operation indicating that the client is not findable. Thisoperation involves, for example, shaking the section corresponding tothe face in left and right directions. In addition to or in place of theoperation for shaking the face in left and right directions, theautonomous-movement control unit 15 may display client-specifyinginformation (e.g., name or identification number) on the display device107 or may output this information as sound. The client who sees thisoperation performs the requesting gesture again. The receiving unit 12recognizes the request, as described in step S2. In this case, thereceiving unit 12 specifies the client in accordance with information,such as the client's face, clothing, physique, and color. The receivingunit 12 refers to the information stored in the storage unit 11 anddetermines whether this request is a request currently being processedor a request from another user. If it is determined that this request isa request from another user, the receiving unit 12 stores theinformation related to this request into the storage unit 11. If it isdetermined that this request is a request currently being processed, thereceiving unit 12 specifies the location of the client by using theinformation detected by the sensor group 106. After specifying thelocation of the client, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 repeatsthe process from step S5 to step S6.

In step S7, the providing unit 16 provides the service. Before providingthe service, the movement control program may authenticate whether theclient is the proper client. This authentication may be, for example,face authentication, fingerprint authentication, voice-printauthentication, or password authentication. In the case where theauthentication is performed, the providing unit 16 provides the servicewhen the client is authenticated. If the client is not authenticated,the providing unit 16 does not provide the service.

In step S8, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 controls the movingunit 14 so as to move to a standby position. The standby position is setin advance. The movement control system 1 may have a charging station(not shown), and the autonomous-movement control unit 15 may set thelocation of the charging station as the standby position. Alternatively,instead of setting a specific standby position in the movement controlsystem 1, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 may wait for the nextrequest while cruising through a predetermined region.

3. Modifications

The exemplary embodiment of the present invention is not limited to thatdescribed above and permits various modifications. Some modificationswill be described below. Of the following modifications, two or morethereof may be combined.

3.1. First Modification

The method by which the receiving unit 12 receives a request is notlimited to that described in the exemplary embodiment. For example, auser may request a service by presenting a card with a predeterminedcolor (e.g., a black card for requesting coffee and a green card forrequesting tea) to the mobile robot 10.

Furthermore, instead of receiving a request in accordance with theinformation detected by the sensor group 106, the receiving unit 12 mayreceive a request via a user terminal (not shown). The user terminal isa user-operated computer (such as a smartphone). The mobile robot 10 andthe user terminal are connected to each other directly or via a networkin a wireless or wired manner. In addition to the request, the userterminal transmits a user ID for specifying the client to the mobilerobot 10. In the case where the request is received from the userterminal, the notifying unit 13 of the mobile robot 10 performsnotification via the user terminal in addition to or in place of theoperation oriented toward the client.

3.2. Second Modification

The timing at which the notifying unit 13 performs the request-receivednotification is not limited to before the moving unit 14 starts moving.The notifying unit 13 may perform the request-received notificationafter the moving unit 14 starts moving. Specifically, the notifying unit13 may perform the request-received notification while the moving unit14 is moving.

3.3. Third Modification

The method by which the notifying unit 13 performs the request-receivednotification is not limited to that described in the exemplaryembodiment. In a case where a request is made by gesture, if the housing109 of the mobile robot 10 has a shape that resembles a human, thenotifying unit 13 may perform the request-received notification bycontrolling the movements of the extremities so that the mobile robot 10performs the same gesture as that used for making the request.Alternatively, the notifying unit 13 may perform the request-receivednotification by controlling the movements of the extremities so that themobile robot 10 performs a predetermined request-received gesture.

3.4. Fourth Modification

In addition to the request-received notification, the notifying unit 13may provide notification of the state of the mobile robot 10. The stateof the mobile robot 10 is a state related to whether or not a request isreceivable (e.g., a state where a request is being received, a statewhere a service is being provided, or a preparation state). For example,in a state where the providing unit 16 is in the process of providing aservice and a request for a new service is not receivable, the notifyingunit 13 provides notification of this state. Specifically, a lamp isturned on, or a message or an image indicating this state is displayedon the display device 107.

3.5. Fifth Modification

The request-received notification by the notifying unit 13 may includeother information, such as a client-specifying image. Theclient-specifying image is, for example, an image of the client's face.In this case, upon receiving a request, the receiving unit 12 extractsthe image of the client's face from the information detected by thesensor group 106 and stores the image into the storage unit 11. Thenotifying unit 13 displays the image of the client's face, stored in thestorage unit 11, on the display device 107. As another example, therequest-received notification may include a route toward the client.

3.6. Sixth Modification

The providing unit 16 may charge for each provided service. The chargingmethod may be a prepaid method or a billing method in which servicesprovided in a predetermined period (e.g., one month) are collectivelycharged afterwards. Furthermore, the providing unit 16 may perform userauthentication. In this case, information to be used for the userauthentication is stored in advance in the storage unit 11.

3.7. Seventh Modification

The notifying unit 13 may perform the request-received notification byperforming an operation that varies depending on the distance to aclient. For example, the distance to the client is classified into threelevels, namely, a “far” level, an “intermediate” level, and a “near”level. In this case, when the distance to the client is “far”, thenotification is performed via a user terminal. When the distance to theclient is “intermediate”, only “request-received” and“request-not-received” notifications are provided by turning on a lamp.When the distance to the client is “near”, an image indicating that therequest is received and a client-specifying image are displayed on thedisplay device 107. Furthermore, in a case where the request-receivednotification is performed while moving toward the client, the notifyingunit 13 may change the operation of the request-received notification ina stepwise manner in accordance with the distance to the client.

3.8. Eighth Modification

After the notifying unit 13 performs the request-received notification,the receiving unit 12 may receive a cancellation of that request. Forexample, the request cancellation is received when the sensor group 106detects a predetermined gesture (e.g., a gesture of raising both armsand cross them above the head). When the receiving unit 12 receives therequest cancellation, the autonomous-movement control unit 15 stopsmoving toward the destination and stops the process for that request.When the process for the request stops, the autonomous-movement controlunit 15 controls the moving unit 14 so as to start moving toward adestination related to a subsequent request in the sequence.

3.9. Ninth Modification

FIG. 5 illustrates the system configuration of the movement controlsystem 1 according to a ninth modification. The system configuration ofthe movement control system 1 is not limited to that illustrated inFIG. 1. In this example, the movement control system 1 has a server 20.The server 20 is a computer having a CPU, a memory, a storage device,and a communication unit and is connected to the mobile robot 10 via anetwork 50. The server 20 may have one or more of the functionalcomponents shown in FIG. 1, such as at least one of the storage unit 11,the receiving unit 12, and the autonomous-movement control unit 15.

3.10. Tenth Modification

Although the exemplary embodiment described above relates to an examplein which the person requesting a service is the same as the personreceiving the service, the person requesting the service and the personreceiving the service do not have to be the same. For example, asubordinate (i.e., the client) may request the mobile robot 10 toprovide coffee to his/her boss (i.e., the person receiving the service).In this case, the mobile robot 10 moves toward the designated person whois to receive the service, instead of moving toward the client. In theabove exemplary embodiment, the client himself/herself is the personreceiving the service.

3.11. Other Modifications

The hardware configuration for realizing the functions in FIG. 1 is notlimited to that described in the exemplary embodiment. For example, thedriving system 105 may have a component that resembles a caterpillar orthe extremities of an animal or human in addition to or in place of thewheels and the tires. In another example, the driving system 105 mayhave a mechanism, such as a propeller, for moving through the air.Furthermore, although the single CPU 101 has the functions of thereceiving unit 12, the notifying unit 13, and the autonomous-movementcontrol unit 15 in the exemplary embodiment, at least one of thesefunctions may be implemented in a dedicated processor. Moreover, thedisplay device 107 may have a projector in place of the LCD. In thiscase, the display device 107 projects various types of information ontoa ceiling or a wall surface.

At least one of the functional components shown in FIG. 1 may beomitted. Moreover, with regard to the order of the flow shown in FIG. 3,one or more of the steps may be interchanged or omitted.

The program executed by the CPU 101 in the exemplary embodiment may beprovided by a storage medium, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk,or a semiconductor memory, or may be downloaded via a communicationline, such as the Internet.

The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention has been provided for the purposes of illustration anddescription. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed. Obviously, many modificationsand variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, therebyenabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments and with the various modifications as are suited tothe particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of theinvention be defined by the following claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile robot comprising: a sensor; and aprocessor programmed to: detect a moving image surrounding the mobilerobot from the sensor; recognize a person in the moving image as aclient candidate; receive a request for a service in accordance with atleast one of (i) information detected by the sensor and (ii) informationcommunicated directly or via a network by a user terminal, with theproviso that: based on the information detected by the sensor, theprocessor determines whether the person performs one of predefinedgestures to determine the person to be a client and to determine arequested service, each of the predefined gestures being linked to adifferent one of services to be provided by the mobile robot, and theinformation communicated directly or via the network by the userterminal includes user identifying information specifying a client amongrecognized client candidates and service identifying informationspecifying a service to be provided by the mobile robot; output anotification identifying the recognized request for confirmation by theclient, the outputting of the notification including performing anoperation oriented toward the client; and after receiving theconfirmation from the client, provide the service.
 2. The mobile robotaccording to claim 1, wherein the operation is performed by causing apredetermined section of the mobile robot to face the client.
 3. Themobile robot according to claim 1, wherein the operation is performed byoutputting sound data for identifying the client.
 4. The mobile robotaccording to claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to: causemovement of the mobile robot toward a user designated as a receiver ofthe recognized service, after the operation is performed.
 5. The mobilerobot according to claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to:cause movement of the mobile robot toward a user designated as areceiver of the recognized service, while the operation is beingperformed.
 6. The mobile robot according to claim 1, wherein theprocessor is programmed to: in a case where a plurality of requests arereceived from a plurality of clients, perform the operation orientedtoward each of the plurality of clients so as to notify which one of theplurality of requests is received from each of the plurality of clients.7. The mobile robot according to claim 6, wherein the processor isprogrammed to: in the case where the plurality of requests are received,set a sequence based on which services related to the plurality ofrequests are to be provided; and output the notification identifyingrecognized requests for confirmation by the plurality of clients inaccordance with the sequence.
 8. The mobile robot according to claim 7,wherein the sequence is set in accordance with a timing at which each ofthe plurality of requests is to be started.
 9. The mobile robotaccording to claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to: output thenotification identifying the recognized request for confirmation by theclient by performing an operation that varies depending on a distancebetween the mobile robot and the client.
 10. The mobile robot accordingto claim 1, wherein the processor is programmed to: receive acancellation of the request from the client, after the notification isoutputted.
 11. A movement control system comprising: a processorprogrammed to: detect a moving image surrounding the mobile robot from asensor; recognize a person in the moving image as a client candidate;receive a request for a service in accordance with at least one of (i)information detected by a sensor and (ii) information communicateddirectly or via a network by a user terminal, with the proviso that:based on the information detected by the sensor, the processordetermines whether the person performs one of predefined gestures todetermine the person to be a client and to determine a requestedservice, each of the predefined gestures being linked to a different oneof services to be provided by the mobile robot, and the informationcommunicated directly or via the network by the user terminal includesuser identifying information specifying a client among recognized clientcandidates and service identifying information specifying a service tobe provided by the mobile robot; output a notification identifying therecognized request for confirmation by the client, the outputting of thenotification including performing an operation oriented toward theclient; and after receiving the confirmation from the client, providethe service.
 12. A movement control method comprising: detecting amoving image surrounding the mobile robot from a sensor; recognizing aperson in the moving image as a client candidate; receiving a requestfor a service in accordance with at least one of (i) informationdetected by a sensor and (ii) information communicated directly or via anetwork by a user terminal, with the proviso that: based on theinformation detected by the sensor, the processor determines whether theperson performs one of predefined gestures to determine the person to bea client and to determine a requested service, each of the predefinedgestures being linked to a different one of services to be provided bythe mobile robot, and the information communicated directly or via thenetwork by the user terminal includes user identifying informationspecifying a client among recognized client candidates and serviceidentifying information specifying a service to be provided by themobile robot; outputting a notification identifying the recognizedrequest for confirmation by the client, the outputting of thenotification including performing an operation oriented toward theclient; and after receiving the confirmation from the client, providingthe service.